Energy Sector Update for 07/24/2018: NBL,ASTE,NAP,BTU

Energy stocks eased modestly from their prior session highs, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index Tuesday still rising over 1.1% while shares of energy companies in the S&P 500 also were up more than 1.2% as a group. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery settled 63 cents higher at $68.52 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange while the global benchmark Brent crude September contract was climbing 69 cents to $73.84 per barrel. August natural gas futures rose 1 cent to $2.73 per 1 million BTU. Among energy-related ETFs, United States Oil climbed nearly 1.0% while United States Natural Gas was posting a more than 1.18% increase. The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was down less than 0.1% in late trade.

In industry news:

Oil prices climbed over 1% higher Tuesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration issued its international consumption forecast, saying the United States will consume about 14% of the world's energy by 2040 while China, India and Africa will account for 36% of global energy consumption after another 22 years, up from about 32% currently. Overall, the federal agency is expecting consumption to grow by an average of 0.7% per year through 2040. The American Petroleum Institute also will release its weekly look at U.S. crude oil inventories after today's market close at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Among energy stocks moving on news:

+ Noble Energy ( NBL ) was more than 2% higher late in Tuesday trading, roughly halving a nearly 4% mid-morning gain that followed the oil and natural gas producer declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, unchanged from its most recent distribution to investors. The upcoming dividend is payable August 20 to shareholders of record on August 6.

In other sector news,

+ Navios Maritime Midstream Partners LP ( NAP ) was narrowly higher on Tuesday, rising less than 1%, after the master limited partnership that owns and operates crude oil tankers declared a quarterly distribution of $0.125 per unit for the three months ended June 30, unchanged from its Q1 distribution and payable August 14 to investors of record on August 6.

- Peabody ( BTU ) dropped almost 3% on Tuesday after the coal miner reported a surprise Q2 net loss and revenue also trailing Wall Street expectations. Net loss from continuing operations during the three months ended June 30 was $0.93 per share, expanding on an $0.18 per share net loss per share during the year-ago period and missing the Capital IQ consensus expecting Peabody to earn $1.06 per share during the April-to-June reporting period. Revenue rose to $1.309 billion from $1.258 billion last year but also fell short of the $1.357 billion analyst consensus.

- Astec Industries ( ASTE ) plunged Tuesday, dropping as much as 16%, after the asphalt and wood-pellet company swung to a Q2 net loss, missing Wall Street estimates expecting a profit during the April-to-June reporting period. The company also said it will pay $68 million over the next 120 days to one of its wood pellet customers after deciding to exit its wood pellet plant contract. It also will forgive $7 million in receivables to the customer. Separately, Astec said it has retained the Maine Pointe consulting firm to assist with a strategic review of its comprehensive sourcing and capital allocation.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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